Yes, today is the 50th anniversary of hip hop, today is the actual day. August 11, 1973,

was the day of that party at 1520 Cedric Avenue in the Bronx, and for those of you who don't

know it, that's right around where the Deegan meets the cross-bunks expressway, sort of

the northwest corner of that. You know, if you're driving toward the George Washington bridge,

but then you want to go north on the Deegan, it's like right off that ramp, just to

locate it a little bit more precisely. So we'll talk some music history, some New York history,

some American history, we'll have some enjoyable music along the way. I think we're off to a good

start with James Brown, and I think whether you're a hip hop fan or not, you'll enjoy the ride.

Well, even re-era segment that we did here on the show back in 2009 that included DJ Cool

Herc himself looking back on that party in the Bronx where people say he started hip hop 50 years

ago, and on his childhood roots in Jamaica that influenced the sound that he developed in New York.

So we've got some Caribbean and world history to do too. And at the end, we'll even invite you,

so start thinking about it. If you think you'll be listening near the end of the show,

we'll invite you to recite a few of your favorite words from any hip hop song, as long as their

words were allowed to say on the radio. So think about what you might cite, few words, few lines.

Let's get it started. With me now is David D. Cook, co-author with Jeff Chang of the Young Adult

Edition of the Seminole book, Can't Stop Won't Stop a History of the Hip Hop Generation.

He's from the Bronx, and remember some of those early days. These days, DVD teaches

African Studies at San Francisco State University and hosts the show Hard Knock Radio on San Francisco

Station KPFA. He's got a long history as a leading hip hop journalist, DVD, Professor Cook.

Thanks for doing this early shot with us if you're actually on the West Coast right now. Welcome

to WNYC in Happy August 11th. Thank you for having me. Yeah, and I'm out here on the West Coast

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